Happy Australia Day!

January 26, 2012

in Australia,Cultural nuances

Brighton Beach

The colorful changing huts on Brighton Beach in Melbourne.

It’s snowing here in Stockholm, so I am distracting myself with thinking about our upcoming trip down under. And as today is Australia Day – Australia’s national day –  I pulled out some photos from the archives. I chose the one above because what could be more Australian than going to the beach and enjoying the sunshine and surf? And then I couldn’t resist adding the one below because if you are going to spend the day at the beach, than you want the famous lifeguards there to save you, of course, than that led me to thinking of the budgie smugglers. The budgie smuggler is a Speedo type swimsuit that was given this illustrious name as the “bump” in the front is said to resemble a budgie or budgerigar, better known to most of us as a parakeet.

budgee smuggler

The Australian Budgie smuggler.

Finally, I had to add in the photo of the meat pie and beer, a classic meal combination in the land down under. Now I have to thank my Australian husband Robert for leading me down this road of Australiana. He will try to deny this, but he did play me a number of classic Australian songs from the 70s and 80s last night, including Eagle Rock by Daddy Cool. Oh my.

meat pie and beer

A meat pie and Tasmanian beer. Yum.

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Writing a book: an update & a confession

January 24, 2012

in Life as an expat,writing a book

I hit a wall. And I have to say, it seemed insurmountable. As some of you already  know, I’ve been writing a memoir called Going Viking. It’s the often very funny story of an American (me) struggling to carve out a new life in the hard to understand culture of Sweden. At the same time, the book also includes the tales of a passionate traveller (me, again) on adventures in Australia, Iceland, Italy, China, South Africa and more.

Over the last six months or so, I wrote new chapters for my book that I was really happy with and I needed to update the book’s proposal accordingly. (To get a book published, you have to create a business proposal for it to entice an agent and thus a publisher.) I wrote all the major sections – the competitive analysis, my marketing platform, the book summary and so on – but when it came to finishing the revisions on my chapter summaries, I got stuck. I procrastinated and took care of other writing projects instead.

You  need to know that for over two decades, I’ve worked on magazines. I’ve been the editor in chief of six different magazines and countless one-time publications and am used to writing quickly and meeting regular deadlines. I know how to edit and slash my own work. But I’m human. And somewhere along the way to writing my book, I got lost in all the hundreds of pages of text.

Finishing that last section of the proposal loomed over me like the grim reaper. I skyped with my fellow magazine writer, editor and longtime friend Bryn of Writes4food yesterday. We have bi-weekly meetings about our writing projects and goals and she was telling me of her plans to do something she had been meaning to do for a long time: learn how to improve the photography for her blog. I was so proud of her.

And I knew then that I needed to do some tough love in terms of my own work. I printed out the 40 or so pages of copy I needed to revise, spread them out on the much larger than my desk surface of the dining room table and started doing some old school, hardcore revising. Quickly, I figured out the problem – I couldn’t let go of some writing that I loved, but that no longer was relevant to the book. So I began chopping. It felt good.

I’ve got more work to do, but I’m on my way. I’ll be taking a brief break on adding new posts to the blog, but I will share a few old favorites to make up for it. Now I’m back to the dining room…

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Winter, at last

January 23, 2012

in Living in Sweden,Stockholm,Stockholm weather

karlavägen at night

Snowy Karlavägen on Saturday night in Stockholm.

Finally, at almost the end of January, it feels like winter. It started snowing Saturday afternoon. And it continued most of Sunday. It was a very light snow and it didn’t really accumulate all that much. As we walked home in the snow on Saturday night, a quiet had come over the city. I stopped, lifted my face up and let the snowflakes fall on my face. Nice.

snow in Stockholm

Eriksbergsplan in Stockholm.

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Wine & cheese party

January 22, 2012

in Life as an expat,Living in Sweden,Stockholm

 

wine party stockholm

Red wines, ready for tasting.

stockholm party

And just a few of the many cheeses.

The invitation read: We prepare all the accessory goodies as well as a basic selection of wine and cheese. You bring one bottle of wine and one piece of cheese (not necessarily Brie). We will write the name of each “bringer” on each bottle, which might serve as a conversation starter. Even though a Chateau d’Yquem ’72 might make for great conversations, we rather suggest that you bring something in a lower price range but which might be unique or have a special significance for you.

wine party

Caroline and Dita.

It sounded like a good idea to me, so Robert and I rounded up a bottle of chianti from Italy we had been saving and got some manchego cheese and headed off. It was snowy last night, so we had a lovely walk there. The party was hosted by Dita and Daniel, a Czech and a Swede. Our fellow party guests were a worldly mix as well, mostly Swedes, with Americans, Italians and even a couple from Siberia there too. The wine was just as varied, mostly from Italy, but also Australia, South Africa, Germany, France, Hungary and Lebanon. It was a perfect combination for a party on a chilly winter night.

white wine

wine glass

 

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Eating salmon and liking it too

January 20, 2012

in Cultural nuances,Life as an expat,Living in Sweden,Stockholm's food

fish soup

Robert's salmon and fish soup.

When I first moved to Stockholm, I did not like salmon. At all. But salmon is extremely popular in Sweden and was served at EVERY dinner party we went to. I didn’t want to be rude, so I would ask for just a small piece and force myself to eat it with copious amounts of potato to mask the taste.

Salmon made me feel like that annoying kid that I was who refused to eat just about everything: fish, peas, lima beans, hot dogs, hamburgers, bananas. The list of my dislikes was endless. Dinner was an ordeal that I tried to get through by creatively hiding peas under my mashed potatoes and by taking a big mouthful of something disgusting and then spitting it into my napkin and dropping it on the floor for the dog to eat.

I longed for a dog to sit by my side on those salmon nights. But then at some point over the years, I realized I could tolerate the salmon. It’s not one of my favorite foods, but I actually like it now. I especially like it in fish soup and Robert makes an amazingly good one with chunks of fresh salmon, mini shrimp and vegetables.

I guess you could say that eating salmon is just one of the many ways Sweden has had an influence on me.

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Island hopping in Stockholm’s archipelago

January 19, 2012

in Living in Sweden,Stockholm,Stockholm's archipelago,what to see in Stockholm

stockholm archipelago

Stockholm's beautifully rocky and serene archipelago.

As far back as I can remember, I have loved being on the water. Every year, my entire family would take a summer vacation at a cabin on the shores of Houghton Lake in Michigan. We spent our holiday fishing, boating, playing in the sand. It inspired a lifelong love of the the water in me, be it  lake, ocean, sea or river.

So I guess it comes as no surprise that I love being on the water in Stockholm, particularly on the archipelago. My guest post about one of my favorite kayaking trips on the archipelago can be found on LiveShareTravel.

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Going lagom in Sweden

January 18, 2012

in Cultural nuances,Lagom,Living in Sweden,Swedish traditions

“Lagom is driving me crazy.” When a Norwegian American woman said this last night, the entire group of 20  laughed. I was at an event for the American Women’s Club welcoming newcomers to Sweden. Introductions were being made and everyone was sharing where she was from, how long she had lived in Sweden and how she was doing in her new homeland.

We all laughed, because we all got it. Even if you’ve only lived in Sweden for a few weeks, it’s likely that you’ve run into lagom. Pronounced LAW-gohm, the word has no exact equivalent in English, but is typically defined as “everything in moderation.”  Basically, everyone has enough and no one goes without. It’s a cultural philosophy and a code of behavior all at once. At heart, the word connotes restraint. There is an appropriate balance for all things.

For immigrants to Sweden, lagom effects them in all sorts of everyday ways: there are not as many brands at the grocery store, there are only two or three selections to choose from on a dagens or daily lunch menu, portion sizes in restaurants are smaller. In the office, it means decisions are made not by individuals but as a group and that a Swedish employee wil leave at 5 because their work is done for the day even if there is a big deadline to meet.

Most Americans are hardwired to NOT be lagom. We strive to stand out, to be the best, to make our mark. On my first day on the job in Sweden, a Swedish coworker asked, “Why are all Americans so loud? They hurt my ears.” She then quickly followed up with, “You’re not like other Americans!”

When you move to a new country, you tend to spend a lot of time learning the new language in an effort to fit in. But fitting into a society also requires understanding the cultural rules of a society and how to behave.  You have to know that when you visit a Swedish home, you are expected to take off your outside shoes at the door. If you don’t, you can be thought of as rude.

As for me in Sweden, I’ve had a long love/hate relationship with lagom. I like the concept of lagom in some ways, but it also gets on my nerves. Over the years, I’ve written about it many, many times before on this blog, exploring it from how others define lagom,  how Swedes define it and  jantelagen and  also from how I am not so lagom.

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Venice of the North

January 17, 2012

in Living in Sweden,Stockholm,what to see in Stockholm

stockholm bridge

The Norrbro or North bridge between Gamla Stan and Norrmalm in central Stockholm. Photo by Robert Corkery.

In the travel guides, Stockholm is often referred to as the “Venice of the North.” Most of the time, I just laugh about that pretentious title. But when I look at a photo like this, I can almost imagine a gondolier passing by.

By the way, Norrbro extends from the royal palace on Gamla Stan, passes over Helgeandsholmen – the island with parliament on it, and ends up at Gustaf Adolfs torg. In the summer, kayakers like to practice their maneuvers on the rapids beneath the bridge.

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Winter blues & grays

January 16, 2012

in Life as an expat,Living in Sweden,Stockholm

strandvägen

This is where the the sun is in the sky just after 2 in the afternoon. While the sun is low, it's higher than it was last month at this time! The view is over Ladugårdslandsviken in central Stockholm.

strandvägen

It's snowing just now. And that makes winter a lot easier to handle in my opinion. The path here is along Strandvägen in central Stockholm.

This is the time of year that I struggle with the most. Daylight hours are still short.  Sunrise is around 8.30 and sunset around 3.20. It’s definitely better than last month at this time. But winter still seems endless. Just so you can see what it’s like: the top photo was taken just after 2 in the afternoon. Notice how low the sun is in the sky.

We came in yesterday after a two-hour walk and I could not warm up for hours. I wrapped myself in a blanket and practically sat on top of the radiator. I thought about going to the gym to use the sauna, but that meant I would have had to walk back outside again. And I absolutely did not want to do that.

archipelago

In the Stockholm archipelago at midnight with Robert, Kathleen and Giorgio.

So instead I was looking through some photos and came across the one above. It was taken in early July in the Stockholm archipelago. And guess what time it was taken. Midnight. Yes, that is what the sky looks like at midnight in the summer. This is why I live in Sweden. All that light ALMOST makes struggling through winter worth it.

 

 

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What’s for breakfast?

January 15, 2012

in Living in Sweden,Stockholm,Stockholm's food,Swedish food,Swedish traditions

I made pancakes for breakfast this morning. As I created the mix from scratch, following the classic Betty Crocker cookbook recipe, I couldn’t help but be reminded of home. As in the US. Pancakes were so much a part  of my childhood breakfast memories. But they weren’t for everyday breakfast. Rather, pancakes were what my brothers and I ate on the weekends or for holidays like Christmas. Cereal was what we typically had during the week. (And for years, the cereal I ate was either Cheerios or Captain Crunch.)

By the way, American-style pancakes have baking powder in them and are thus fat and fluffy. I always ate them with butter and maple syrup. In contrast, Swedish pancakes or pannkakor are thin and more like what I would call a crepe. And they are very much a part of tradition too – on Thursdays, Swedes like to have pea soup with pancakes and lingonberry jam for lunch. As I am not much of a pea soup fan, this is not a tradition that I have embraced!

 

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